Been a Long Time
 

Hi friends, I feel like a newbie here
I'm a bit ashamed to admit this is my 1st visit in 8 years; I still have my '99 Blazer (just 90,000 mi. on it) but 2 other car brands took over my life and pushed Blazer into semi-hiding under a tree. Driven less than 2000 miles since 2013. The 2 other brands are classic British sports cars, Triumph and MG; I now have a busy shop to care and feed and preserve them.

I'm now hoping to use Blazer as a tow vehicle and trying to restart the love I had for it (orig. owner and it was a custom build order, 1 of a kind). I'm faced with so many electrical and body issues it's exhausting just thinking about it; every repair is gonna be a PITA Im sure, and some Blazer parts are discontinued.

As an auto tech who deals with the quirks of 40 - 70 yr old handmade cars, I try to work things out myself but I may need Blazer help from you guys as I attempt to get it close to like new again. Some of the probs:

HVAC air intake and evaporator clogged w/ 20 yrs of leaves and dirt (I'm farming this one out to another shop) ... needs frt wheel bearings (4TH TIME) ... A/C compressor (5TH TIME!!!) ... window motor and switch ... power seat switch (cost is outrageous) ...rear window wiper motor ... all 8 speakers rotted ... bad rain leak, water goes under driver side carpet ... on and on. I won't even dare try the sunroof LOL.

So wish me luck, I'll try to post my progress and anything I learn, everyone stay well!

Welcome back and good luck with bring the Blazer back to it's former glory.

Welcome back.

Good luck to you, and welcome back. If you're used to working on those British cars, your Blazer's electrical problems should be nothing, lol.

Reminds me of the old mechanic's joke:
Why do the English drink warm beer? Because they have Lucas refrigerators. ;)

Hi Tom thanks for reply! Haha I know all the lame Lucas jokes:icon_beerchug: ... and believe it or not, in 11 yrs involvement I've found the main prob with Lucas electrics was (is) the CAR OWNERS!! So many old Brit cars were (are) left just sitting for ages, rarely driven and just short runs,and the inevitable corrosion bugs invade the old-school connectors. Plus the poor cars were NEVER serviced properly (butchered is more like it). Yes, Lucas can be faulted for using steel rather than copper or brass wire terminals, but cost was a factor ... and now they are supplied in stainless so 99% of Lucas issues are history, glad to report. Their starters and alternators were built like a vault (my '72 MGB with 343K miles still has its originals, for real!), and their wiring was highest grade copper.

I hope you're right about I shouldn't be afraid of Blazer electrics - you've given me a bit more confidence thanks. I'll try to keep y'all posted on this adventure. Motor and drivetrain (5 sp) are fine thank goodness ... stay well!

You'll be fine. There are a ton of smart people here who love to help. Some of them are really good with electrical stuff, even. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.

Welcome back Tom!I'm newbie here.Nice to meet you!!!

:icon_banana:Welcome Back-to the tune of "Welcome Back Kotter" :icon_banana:

Thank you all for the warm welcome! As of today my Blazer is in the care of an S10 fanatic who knows them inside out ... rehabbing the sloppy steering, HVAC, wheel bearings etc. My own shop (MG, Triumph, Austin-Healey) is full and I have no time or GM factory tools to deal w/ all that; sometimes you just gotta farm work out. I'll have enough to do trying to fix elec probs when it's back ... updates coming.

Looking foward to the updates, looks like a nice ride from your other threads!

Thanks Don ... well it was a nice ride, till it became like trying to pilot a runaway barge lol. Having spent my entire driving life w/ British and Italian sports cars that corner like go-karts, when I placed this build order I tried to set it up to handle maybe like an overweight Alfa Romeo or something. It never lived up to that and the steering got so horrible I just parked it for 3 yrs.

I'm paying the price now, in corrosion, many elec fails, rain leaks, disintegrating plastic, etc... very discouraging. But I'll try my best to rehab it - the grunt work is being done by a trusted shop (how rare is that now?) and I have the electrics and leaks to address.

What puts me off most is the rip-off cost of many Blazer parts ... $203 for a power seat switch??? (no aftermkt, no boneyard avail.) Come on :mad:. Parts for the classic British cars I service are mostly way cheaper, and plentiful. Looks like I'm gonna pump like $2 K in this Blazer ... but it's cheaper than a replacement, motor's fine, and it still may be one of a kind, the way i spec'd it. Updates soon

Up to now the Blazer was towing my 78 Alfa Romeo but that should be on the road soon. At 1080 kg (some 2200 pounds) it should be a bit more nimble than a Blazer. But the Blazer is going places the Alfa can't.

Hello from a former Alfa fanatic! You have stirred up mixed memories haha! My 1st car (I was 16) was a brand new 1978 Alfa Spider 2.0, Italian model with Dellorto carbs, smuggled into USA via Mexico by a friend of my parents in the shipping business - truly a once in a lifetime event. I fell so in love w/ it I kept it 8 yrs/120,000 miles, and convinced my Mom to buy a new 1980 Alfetta Sport Sedan automatic, one of the last made.

She drove it till she passed in 1994, over 200,000 miles (and 3 of those awful ZF Type 3 transmissions), but it did like all the US Alfettas, rusted viciously, constant bodywork. I had to lay it to rest after being T-boned by a huge Cadillac in 1995.

I myself owned 2 Spiders, a '67 Duetto, 2 GT Veloce 2.0, and a fantastic '73 Montreal V8 # 3202 of 3925 built (now in Amsterdam) ... and finally gave up on the rust battles. You may have the only Alfetta still alive my friend, good on you! They are all gone in USA.

My Blazer will hopefully be trailering my current sports car, 1972 MGB/ GT (rust-free!) from Florida to Colorado twice a yr - too long and boring a drive to put so many miles on the MG. This opportunity inspired me to rehab the Blazer, it's just a 2WD but it will do the job ... thanks for posting and stay well!

Oh, that sounds like quite a collection of Alfa Romeo's. Yeah incredible work to do a full nuts and bolts restoration. Happy to slowly getting towards something that looks like a sports coupe.